Is the US a warlike country?

[chequita guevara]

Originally posted by The Emperor Fabulous
First, it was Americans first and foremost that took to the streets to protest the war in Iraq. It is Americans that first and foremost continue to do so.

First maybe, but not foremost. That distinction, I think, lies with our partners in crime, the Brits.

[Spiffor]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
I don't think of this as a troll. Spiffor you're too nice to troll people .

Nah, I'm not too nice to troll. But I'm sure too lazy to put that much effort in a troll

If you see a pagelong post written by myself (and not copypasted), you can bet it's something I'm genuinely interested in

[chequita guevara]

Originally posted by Sandman
The three conflicts which are the most symbolically important for Americans are the Second World War, the American Revolution and the American Civil War. These conflicts were decided once and for all the course history was to take. There was no Second American Civil War, no American-British war in the 19th Century, no return of Nazism.

We did fight a war with the Brits in the 19th Century. The War of 1812 is often called the 2nd American Revolution, because it took that war for Britain to treat us seriously.

[chequita guevara]

Originally posted by Drake Tungsten
I'm more interested in why Europeans cling to such a simplistic and naive view of war than I am in whether they think Americans are warlike. Is the more interesting issue, IMO...

It's also the more simple. WWI, WWII, and WWIII.

[Sava]

I wouldn't say America is war-like... but some Americans are.

[chequita guevara]

Originally posted by Spiffor
*It is my firm belief that the US government has never engaged in major operations out of altruism.

Somolia comes closest.

[techumseh]

How would you answer this question objectively? I think 3 things would give you a pretty good idea:

1) Overall size, composition and mission of the US armed forces.

2) Total % of GNP spent on military expenditures relative to other countries

3) Number to times US armed forces have been deployed outside it's own boundaries in conflict situations.

Anything else?

[techumseh]

Originally posted by chegitz guevara


We did fight a war with the Brits in the 19th Century. The War of 1812 is often called the 2nd American Revolution, because it took that war for Britain to treat us seriously.

In Canada, it's viewed as the first defeat of American aggression and the war which insured that Canada would develop as an independent country.

[Tuberski]

Originally posted by techumseh
How would you answer this question objectively? I think 3 things would give you a pretty good idea:

1) Overall size, composition and mission of the US armed forces.

2) Total % of GNP spent on military expenditures relative to other countries

3) Number to times US armed forces have been deployed outside it's own boundaries in conflict situations.

Anything else?

1)Fairly small compared to even the early 90's.

2)The best equipment costs money.

3)Mostly at the behest of the U.N., although not always.

ACK!

[Tuberski]

Originally posted by techumseh


In Canada, it's viewed as the first defeat of American aggression and the war which insured that Canada would develop as an independent country.

When you have nothing else..........

ACK!

[Imran Siddiqui]

[chequita guevara]

The U.S. is an exceedingly warlike country. In the late 80s, I learned in university that the U.S. had been engaged in military operations somewhere in the world (inclduing itself), for all but twenty years (if you counted up all the months here and there when we weren't fighting). Counting seperate incidents, we've engaged in military action almost once a year for our entire history. The longest period I could discover was a brief period between the two occupations of Nicaragua in the 1920s.

We have always been divided between two impulses: our anti-imperialist impulse which originated as a result of our national origin, and our belief we had the right to smack the **** out of anyone who stood in our way and take what we wanted..

It's only been since WWII that we've come to identify ourselves as the good guys in a philosophical light, as opposed to being the good guys because it's simply our side. WWII, the horrors of Nazism, the Cold War, and the horrors of Stalinism convinced us that not only did we have the right to smack the **** out of anyone who stood in our way, but that we were the morally superior people. This was also a result of massive post-WWII anti-communist propaganda.

We saw the USSR as the aggressor, despite the fact that we initiated or intervened in seven times more conflicts than the Soviets since WWII. Tell that to most Americans, and they simply will not believe you.

We don't believe we do those kind of things, and thus, paradoxically, we can be warlike because we think we aren't warlike. Since we don't do those kind of things, we aren't doing those kind of things, and when we are, it must be because it is absolutely necessary. Ironically, this gives the government a pretty free hand to act like a total bastard in the world, cuz our media won't touch it. Despite the accusations of people like Ned, the media here is exceedingly patriotic. It takes about a decade or more for the media to cover something evil we did militarily, and thus we can convince ourselves that those were different times.

[Japher]

I think American's, myself included, are warlike. However, most of us don't realize it, nor do we wish it to be true.

Why do I say this?

We enjoy our fast food, action flicks, fast cars, snappy gadgets, personal freedoms, and total lack of international violance in our lifes, and are quick to damn those who would attempt to take any of those away then ignore such actions.

You wonder why American's are ignorant of world geography and history? It's propganda.

We get away with a lot more than we should.

Why? Because humanity, itself, is warlike. America is just the best at making it look civil.

We defined the rules afterall.

[Dis]

Yes (I can be honest about my own country)

While ideally we strive for a peaceful nation, it always seem we have a need to take our aggression out on someone. First the Brits, then the indians, then the mexicans, then the spanish, then the germans, then the germans and japanese, then the north koreans, then the north vietnamese, then middle easterners. The cycle is endless.

But I do believe our intentions are better than those we oppose. It's just we choose war over diplomacy.

[chequita guevara]

Originally posted by Tuberski
3)Mostly at the behest of the U.N., although not always.

Totally untrue.